Hi all. I’m Lenny Ravich Humorous Keynote Speaker, London and author of the bestselling book, “Everlasting Optimism”.

I’m 86 going on 87 in July and at my age just finding a place to sit is much preferred to an evening of romance.  

In my previous blog I wrote about the Master public speaker. Now we get to the most commanding figure of them all: 

The Keynote Speaker as Wizard

This Sorcerer is not a designated card, but is out of the game. It requires playing or not playing the game of life as a choice. 

 Achieving the status of wizard is the ultimate in creating any reality I desire depending on my attitude and response to the cards I am dealt; transforming split seconds of pain, agony and tragedy into moments of triumph, laughter and compassion. This honor also comes with taking the responsibility of confronting myself as the main protagonist and antagonist in my life’s drama. Except for my panic attacks when I lose my internet connection.

It’s all a game

I am not a magician. The magician only knows tricks accomplished with sleight of hand, but I have developed the uncanny perception affording me to see all reality as just a game to be played out and not something to be involved in and/or, God forbid, to be taken seriously. 

I play just to play and not to win or lose and look at experiences such as winning and losing, fame and shame, success and failure, pleasure and pain, and rich and poor, up and down, love or hate, life and death- all as the same inclination and just part of the ride. Excluding my hysteria when my wife enters my computer room unannounced. 

 This power to detach from reality and look at life as a high-valued comedy has won me the privilege to be the controller of all responses, reactions, feelings, moods and outcomes. I see life as pure entertainment. But not when my kids ask me for money.

The Wizard Speaker

I became a wizard speaker; This clout came to me only when I finally accepted the fact that every person in the audience, and any and every person on earth for that matter, was me in drag. That is why I have never blamed spectators nor any individual for not being accepting or responsive. It’s all me. They are the mirror of my soul. And so are you, dear reader. There is no such thing as separation. Separation is an illusion Everything in the universe is interrelated with everything else. There is no flower without a bee and no bee without a flower. All that we do and think is immediately impacted on the cosmos and has an effect on everything and everyone. I must be careful what I say, think, feel and do. It all goes around and comes back. Especially when I have to wake up a number of times at night to pee. An enlarged prostate is a joy forever!

When I realized that what I was witnessing was the result of my own projections, I decided to accept that part of me that I was foretelling onto the audience, acknowledging it as another discovery about myself that would advance my ability to love that very same shadow part in me that I was projecting onto other people, and to love those whom I had allowed previously to threaten me. As a result, I have found my way into as many hearts as possible. By choosing to love the people I had once feared has afforded me new friends and by the end of an hour’s talk, I could take them and myself to unbelievable heights. But not if they owed me money! 

Connection

The reason that people come to hear any speaker is connection. They want to be loved and to love. They want to be spoken to on an eye to eye level and will eat you alive if you come on as patronizing. I have to show my own vulnerability, pain and shortcomings in order to bond. Audiences find it difficult to get close to a person who tries to be perfect.  Every lecture and every interaction becomes a life lesson. Particularly when my cat needs my attention during a Zoom conference call.

 I have to accept the responsibility of making this day better than yesterday and making the world a better place at each opportunity. If what you think I am doing on these pages is bragging, then know this… If I do not accept my powers, I cannot teach others to accept theirs and would not even be blessed to write this article.

To have a positive effect, I must imagine it in my mind’s eye. Prior to every performance and every workshop, I say silently to myself, “This is going to be the best I’ve ever done. What will I learn from this?” I am not attached to the result. Apart from when I’m in a traffic jam and running late. 

 I had to surrender my control to a higher authority. I just buckle my seat belt, live with tremendous excitement and anticipation, and allow the journey to run its “planned by-the-higher-power” course. I relax into it, surrender to where I’m taken. Mainly when my accountant calls to tell me that I’m late in tax payments.

 I am honored and privileged to stand before any audience of any size and try to provide whatever it is that they need. It’s not about me. Most of all, I feel blessed to be in the service and in the presence of God.  So why not craft love, passion, happiness, joy, wealth, good health, well-being, compassion, peace of mind and fabulous relationships every moment? But not when somebody cuts me off in traffic. The SOB!

I practice happiness by experiencing all emotions without judgmental narratives. The wizard has no excuses nor expectations. But they should have paid me on time!  

I carry love and joy in my heart. All the rest is bullshit. 

If your aim is to become a wizard, please be kind.  

If you would like to book a humorous wizard-speaker for your next event or prefer personal coaching, contact www.lennyravich.org